2012 Hedges Family Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Red Mountain Limited

Community Tasting Notes (8) Avg Score: 87.9 points

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View forceberry's profile
  • Report Issue

  11/27/2020 - forceberry wrote: 88 Points

  A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (60%), Merlot (26%), Syrah (8%), Cabernet Franc (4%) and Malbec (2%). Aged for 10 months in American (2/3) and French (1/3) oak barrels, of which 41% were new. 13,5% alcohol, 6,4 g/l acidity, pH 3,75. Bottle no. #39562 of 115800 bottles. Tasted blind.
  
  Rather opaque blackish-red color with a slightly evolved figgy hue and a broad, pale rim. Ripe, juicy and somewhat smoky nose with quite noticeable oak influence. Apparently everybody else is thinking of Margaux or Bordeaux in general, but I'm in new world for sure. Aromas of toasty oak spice and savory wood spice, some ripe blackcurrant, a little bit of ferrous blood, light cocoa tones, a hint of charred game and a touch of concentrated dark fruit. The wine feels ripe, rich and quite full-bodied on the palate with intense flavors of ripe blackcurrants, somewhat chocolatey oak, light toasty notes of savory oak spice and extracted woody bitterness, a little bit of meaty umami, sweet hints of jammy red fruits and almost overripe black cherry and a touch of minty herbal character. The overall feel is quite balanced with the moderately high acidity and ample yet very ripe, smooth and well-behaved tannins that lend some welcome firmness to the mouthfeel, but without much noticeable grip. The finish is somewhat warm and quite long with gentle tannic grip and quite rich flavors of ripe blackcurrants, some chocolatey oak tones, a little bit of toasty oak spice, light sanguine notes of iron, a hint of strawberry jam and a touch of savory exotic spices.
  
  This tastes quite a bit similar to the previous wine (which I thought was an Australian Cabernet Sauvignon) so I guess this must be something along those lines. Perhaps a Coonawarra Cabernet or a Bordeaux blend from California. A rich, nuanced and balanced effort, although a bit too ripe and heavily oaked for my taste. On reveal: this was a Bordeaux blend not from California, but from Red Mountain, Washington. Quite close, but no cigar. This is impressive in its own way, but perhaps a bit too polished and easy-drinking in style - for my taste, the wine is simply lacking in character and roughness. This is just way too new world for me. A fine Red Mountain wine, but stylistically a bit too "new world" for me. Perhaps a bit pricey for the style at 34€.

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View Drrobjo's profile
  • Report Issue

  5/23/2019 - Drrobjo Likes this wine: 88 Points

  Well made with core of fruit driven structure and tannins with minimal nose. Great with steak but not a standout

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View Kustjagr's profile
  • Report Issue

  2/15/2019 - Kustjagr Likes this wine: 88 Points

  An herb bomb. Unsually strong flowery bouquet for a WA wine. Never came across such in WA before. Really like a low to mid range French blend. Sort of Beaujoulais Nouveau type taste almost. But with very intense oak and cedar finish. Light on the palate. Zero fruit. Not really a joy without food. Overpriced. Wannabe frenchy. Will keep the other bottles for 5-10 years longer in the cellar hoping that they improve. Fear that the oak will be even stronger though.
  
  EDIT: Far more well-rounded on the second day. Maybe I rushed it. Maybe like a 88 score now. Certainly the excess herbs and oak is less of an issue.

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View Susaninaustin's profile
  • Report Issue

  9/5/2017 - Susaninaustin wrote:

  2.5

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View forceberry's profile
  • Report Issue

  8/26/2017 - forceberry wrote: 88 Points

  A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (60%), Merlot (26%), Syrah (8%), Cabernet Franc (4%) and Malbec (2%). Aged for 10 months in American (2/3) and French (1/3) oak barrels, of which 41% were new. 13,5% alcohol, 6,4 g/l acidity, pH 3,75.
  
  Very slightly translucent dark plummy color. Quite restrained and subtle nose with aromas of ripe blackcurrant, licorice, succulent and slightly concentrated dark fruits, some mellow oak spice and vanilla, a little bit of plum marmalade, a hint of smoke and a hint of Cabernet's minty herbal character. The wine is pretty opulent, full-bodied and quite concentrated on the palate with round and somewhat sweet flavors of ripe dark fruits, juicy blackcurrants, some sweeter vanilla character and a hint of toasted woody oak. The wine is quite ripe and sweet, but still steers clear from the jammy department, in part thanks to the moderately high acidity. The structure relies mainly on the acidity, as the tannins are rather smooth and mellow. The finish is rich and quite sweet with dark-toned, supple flavors of ripe plums, some blackcurrant, a little bit of vanilla, a hint of milk chocolate and a touch of peppery spice.
  
  A good, big and rich Cabernet blend with lots of sweet, ripe fruit and good acidity to back it up. Overall the wine is pretty nice, but for a wine of this size I'd look for much more pronounced and grippy tannins and less oak influence. As the fruit is already so ripe and sweet, it doesn't need any more emphasis from the sweet oak spice, and even though the acidity keeps the wine from coming across as soft and flabby, more pronounced tannic structure could make the wine feel more structured and serious. Now, impressive as it is, the wine falls to the soft, easy-drinking category - which isn't what I'm looking for in a wine that costs 34€ here. This is a pretty good Washington red, but at that price, I wouldn't say this is good value.

  2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment

View all 8 Community Tasting Notes

Professional reviews have copyrights and you can view them here for your personal use only as private content. To view pro reviews you must either subscribe to a pre-integrated publication or manually enter reviews below. Learn more.